1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a fixing means for fixing toner images on a web-shaped recording medium in a printer or copier device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fixing means of said species is disclosed by German Patent Document DE-C2 4235668. It contains a guide yoke with a deflector edge over which the recording medium is supplied to the actual fixing region.
On the one hand, this guide yoke can serve for heating the recording medium; on the other hand, it stabilizes the recording medium as it is running through the printer. In the print mode, the recording medium slides over the sliding surface of the yoke and over the deflector edge. The deflector edge is thereby subject to significantly higher wear than the sliding surface. When the deflector edge is worn, this leads to an imprecise delivery of the recording medium to the following fixing region, which significantly degrades the fixing quality and, thus, the printing quality. In case of wear, the entire guide yoke must be replaced. This is involved and causes an undesired, long interruption of the print mode or, respectively, necessitates a re-adjustment of the entire fixing station.